Kazoodles Bloghttps://kazoodles.wordpress.com
Behind the scenes at Vancouver's favorite toy store!
Wed, 02 Jan 2019 04:07:31 +0000 en
hourly
1 http://wordpress.com/https://s0.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.pngKazoodles Bloghttps://kazoodles.wordpress.com
Fidgets: They’re not just for kidshttps://kazoodles.wordpress.com/2015/03/28/fidgets-theyre-not-just-for-kids/
https://kazoodles.wordpress.com/2015/03/28/fidgets-theyre-not-just-for-kids/#respondSun, 29 Mar 2015 06:06:42 +0000http://kazoodles.wordpress.com/?p=955Nearly every day parents come in looking for fidget toys for their children. Teachers or therapists have recommended they find something to occupy the child’s hands so the child’s brain can focus in school.

It turns out children aren’t the only ones to benefit from having fidgets to play with. Far from idle diversion, fiddling with desk gadgets can have an impact on cognitive functioning, improving focus or sparking fresh thinking or faster learning on the job, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal.

The story describes research conducted by a doctoral student at NYU’s engineering school. When people feel restless or confined by computer work, they may get physical stimulation and stress release from playing with a small sandbox, stretching and bending a Slinky, clicking a pen, or shaping and rolling putty.

That, in fact, is how Crazy Aaron’s Thinking Putty got started. In 1998, designing websites for a living, Aaron convinced his colleagues to chip in and buy 100 pounds of bouncing putty. “Squeezing, stretching, and shaping…they didn’t even realize it was there! As it melted their stress away, their creative potential was unleashed!” he says on his website. People began stopping by his desk to buy more putty, he began adding colors, and the rest is history.

Participants in the NYU study mention benefits they get from squeezing, stroking, flipping, twirling, stretching, clicking or fiddling with everyday objects.

The NYU study is one of many in the evolving field of research called “embodied cognition,” or how physical movement and the environment may shape cognitive functioning. “Some studies show fidgeting may also be a coping mechanism for restless energy, stimulating the brain enough so a person can focus on mundane tasks,” the WSJ article said.

]]>https://kazoodles.wordpress.com/2015/03/28/fidgets-theyre-not-just-for-kids/feed/0kazoodlesWhatzitPoshballTanglesBest of Clark County? Right Here on East Mill Plainhttps://kazoodles.wordpress.com/2014/04/05/best-of-clark-county-right-here-on-east-mill-plain/
https://kazoodles.wordpress.com/2014/04/05/best-of-clark-county-right-here-on-east-mill-plain/#respondSat, 05 Apr 2014 23:40:14 +0000http://kazoodles.wordpress.com/?p=836We were grateful and excited to be named Best of Clark County by readers of The Columbian. We were doubly excited to see that eight BOCC awards and a runner-up are right here in our shopping center, Columbia Square. We’d like you to meet our outstanding neighbors. See if you can spot the phrase that pops up in every one of these.

Larson’s Bakery: Best Bakery/Desserts (four-time winner)

Fresh banana cake. If you haven’t tasted it, you’ve missed one of Vancouver’s culinary treasures. Larson’s Bakery has been making fresh banana cake and much, much more at this location for 27 years after moving up from the Bay Area. The small, family-owned business, led by Sue Wilson, gets super busy at Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter as folks line up for their cakes, pies, rolls and other goodies.

Larson’s also features a deli with sandwiches, soups and salads. For dessert? How do you choose?

Rachel Phillips bought Spanky’s in 2009, carrying on the tradition of a good selection of fashionable, like-new clothing for kids, women and men. “It’s one stop for the whole family,” she said. “It’s still family-owned, so we provide that special touch.”

Spanky’s started in 1981, and one of the original three owners, Sandy Shepherd, is still general manager. Deanna Cook has worked there more than 25 years and Rhonda Thamert more than 18, so customers see familiar faces. They accept clothing either new within the last two years or very classic. “The cuteness factor goes a long way,” Phillips said. “It has to be in season, too.” The store also consigns home decor.

Mar’s Inn: Best Chinese (first-time winner)

Cantonese and Sichuan dishes from the south of China are the specialty at Mar’s Inn. Instead of Americanizing, “We try to translate what we really take from China,” explained Daisy Huang, who grew up in southern China. Cantonese focuses on stir fry, stews and steam, while Sichuan is a lot more spicy, she said.

The family-owned restaurant started in 1980 on Hawthorne in Portland, said Edward Mar, whose family has had as many as five restaurants but now owns one in Portland and the Vancouver Mar’s. Since opening here in 2008, it’s been a popular place for dining in or taking out.

Pho Green Papaya: Best Pho (first-time winner)

For a decade, Pho Green Papaya has been serving up Vietnamese comfort food. “Since it rains so often here, it’s nice to have a warm bowl of soup,” said Ann Chu, whose mother was born in Vietnam.

It’s mostly word-of-mouth that brings crowds of people to the family-owned restaurant. Besides pho — noodle soup laden with meat and vegetables that’s a street food in Vietnam — Pho Green Papaya serves vermicelli and noodle dishes, shredded salad, stir fries and a few other soups.

When Chuck’s Produce opened on 10/10/2010, grocery shopping in Vancouver changed. This local, independent, family-owned grocery strives to have the best prices in its huge produce department, with a unique selection of fruits and vegetables. If you don’t know what something is, ask a produce person to open it and give you a taste, said manager Larry Maresh.

But that’s only one part of the store. Local, healthy and organic are key words whether you’re shopping the grocery department, grabbing lunch at the from-scratch deli, satisfying your sweet tooth at the artisan bakery, seeking health and beauty products, or looking for hormone- and antibiotic-free meats. A gift shop is tucked in one corner, the Potting Shed fills with plants each spring, and free classes are offered regularly to help customers with healthful eating. Maresh’s team of 120 employees stands ready to serve.

Kazoodles: Best Hobby/Toy Store (three-time winner)

Providing the best classic and kid-powered toys since 2006, Kazoodles has been in this center for four years. The focus of this family-owned business is on getting kids into creative, active, imaginative, brain-boosting play. Kazoodles offers play tables where children can get their hands on many of the toys, help for bewildered grandparents, ideas for families of children with special needs, low-cost activities such as Storytime and Crafternoon, and free giftwrap.

Owners Bob and Mary Sisson have been active with the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association, putting them on the front lines with issues such as toy safety, the shop local movement, and choosing the best toys for child development and fun.

Craft Warehouse: Runner Up, Best Hobby/Toy Store

Headquartered in Camas, this small chain of eight craft stores has been at Columbia Square since 1997. “We’re family-owned, not that huge box store,” said Carol Shand, assistant manager. “When we do a category, we do it well.” She, the store manager, and half a dozen others have been at this Craft Warehouse since it opened.

“The staff is very knowledgeable,” she said. The store commits to having more staff so they’re available to help customers. Scrapbooking, jewelry making, quilting, framing, floral and home decor are some of the areas that spark customers’ creativity.

Now, about that phrase. Did you catch it? It’s “family-owned.” Every one of these businesses is owned by a family that cares deeply about our community and our customers. So next time you’re in the vicinity of 134th-136th and Mill Plain, stop by and be part of the family!

]]>https://kazoodles.wordpress.com/2014/04/05/best-of-clark-county-right-here-on-east-mill-plain/feed/0kazoodlesImageMagic of a Toy Store: It Comes From the Kidshttps://kazoodles.wordpress.com/2014/03/14/magic-of-a-toy-store-it-comes-from-the-kids/
https://kazoodles.wordpress.com/2014/03/14/magic-of-a-toy-store-it-comes-from-the-kids/#respondFri, 14 Mar 2014 23:05:49 +0000http://kazoodles.wordpress.com/?p=831We will never forget the first time a mom told us, “He woke up today saying, ‘I want to go to Kazoodles!’” That’s not just music to a shopkeeper’s ears, it’s a full symphony.

Then there was the boy who, with a full store of toys to explore, got in a cardboard box we’d just emptied and had all kinds of imaginary fun.

And Jacob, age 4, who kept bringing me games and asking, “Miss Mary, how do you play this?” I’d have to admit I didn’t know. Finally I told him, “Jacob, my kids are all grown and my husband works nights, so when I get home from work there’s no one to play with.” Jacob looked me in the eye and said, “Miss Mary, you need to make some friends!”

Mr. Duane, who recently retired, loved to bring his dog, Sally, to the store. (Sally’s a Folkmanis puppet, but don’t tell her that.) One day Sally and a little girl were having a nice chat at a play table. After awhile there was a puddle on the floor. The girl’s mom scolded her for having an accident. “I didn’t do it,” the girl insisted. “Sally did it!” In the end, we learned that another child had spilled a drink.

Sally likes to talk with kids who come to Kazoodles.

Sally played a role in an experience that still brings tears to our eyes. Sally, as usual, was chatting with 3-year-old Amber when suddenly Amber started screaming, “Puppy! Puppy!” Mr. Duane thought he’d scared her, especially when her parents came running, tears streaming down. “Mommy! Puppy!” Amber said over again. Mr. Duane had tears in his eyes, too, when he learned Amber has autism and those were the first words she’d ever said in her life. Even Sally was crying, he said.

The Doorbell House from Melissa & Doug played a role with another 3-year-old who had never spoken, his mom relayed. He loved that toy so much, he’d wake up in the morning talking about it.

It’s been gratifying to help kids with special needs find toys that make therapy fun or help them focus in the classroom. We love being a part of the lives of all Kazoodles kids, from searching out what they need for a class project to fulfilling those quirky interests kids can have.

Like the time a dad came in and said, “All my daughter wants for her birthday is a stuffed turkey.” It’s so much fun to say, “Yes, we have that!”

Every day is endlessly entertaining at Kazoodles as we eavesdrop on kids while they play. Thank you for sharing your greatest treasures, your children, with us. We hope we bring them as many wonderful, magical memories as they bring us.

]]>https://kazoodles.wordpress.com/2014/03/14/magic-of-a-toy-store-it-comes-from-the-kids/feed/0kazoodlesSally likes to talk with kids who come to Kazoodles.Fun with arts and craftshttps://kazoodles.wordpress.com/2014/01/04/fun-with-arts-and-crafts/
https://kazoodles.wordpress.com/2014/01/04/fun-with-arts-and-crafts/#respondSat, 04 Jan 2014 22:14:00 +0000http://kazoodles.wordpress.com/?p=828

With thanks to the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association

Deep in the recesses of your memory, you can still feel it. The way your hand slipped across that special smooth paper when you finger painted. The oozy sensation of play dough squishing between your fingers. The satisfying feeling of bringing a handmade construction-paper greeting card to life with large amounts of glue and glitter, even if it did take forever to dry.

Whether our medium was paint, clay, paper plus glue, or — shall we say — eclectic, most of us remember the fun and creative hours spent elbow deep in craft projects as children.

When winter weather keeps kids cooped up indoors, it’s a great time for moms and dads to spread newspaper across the kitchen table and round up some paint, glue, glitter, scissors, paper of various sorts, clay, and more.

Crafts are more than just fun. Kids are learning how to use their hands, how to express themselves, and how to figure things out when they do craft projects. Young children are also building pre-literacy skills because art helps them grasp the idea that symbols can stand for something. Craft projects get them using the tools of literacy such as paper and writing implements.

Here are some tips for finding your child’s inner Picasso or Michelangelo through activities at home:

• Safety first. Make sure all supplies and tools you offer kids are safe and age appropriate.

• Messy is okay. It’s up to you how much mess (and subsequent cleanup) you can tolerate, but try to get comfortable with the reality that creativity can be messy. Limiting art projects to a designated space with clear boundaries is a good idea. Choose a spot with easily washable floors, walls, and furniture. Involve your child in the clean-up process.

• Be creative about materials. Depending on what’s safe for your child’s developmental level, use both typical purchased materials and items you have around the house. Some ideas include finger paints, shaving cream, tempera paint, clay, play dough, fabric scraps, yarn and string, different types of paper (construction, newsprint, gift wrap, wallpaper), old magazines, scrap wood, cardboard, crayons, felt pens, stencils, and much more.

• Don’t expect or judge outcomes. Avoid asking what the new creation is, even if you don’t have a clue what you are looking at. Let your child tell you what he or she is trying to accomplish, if anything, with the project. Try to suspend your adult sensibilities, and see the end result through the child’s eyes.

Above all, let the child’s imagination drive arts and crafts fun at home. When it comes to creativity, there is no such thing as a right way or a wrong way. If kids want to use materials in unusual or unorthodox ways, as long as their ideas are safe, why not let their creativity soar? It’s all about having fun.

With Black Friday set to descend upon us like a Biblical plague, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to dodge the onslaught of newspaper inserts, TV ads and consumer gossip about all those obscene post-Thanksgiving deals. Big-box retailers promise door-busting sales the likes of which our humble society has never seen. I don’t know about you, but the nightmarish phrase “door-busting sale” is enough to convince me to stay home in the comfort of my turkey-induced coma.

For local, independent toy stores, Kazoodles included, it’s impossible to compete with million-dollar ad campaigns and mind-boggling discounts. But why should anybody be competing for the right to incite a crazed, late-night stampede anyway? In response to all the hullabaloo, the world of local toy stores united to bring a better holiday shopping solution: Neighborhood Toy Store Day.

Neighborhood Toy Store Day, happening this Saturday, was created in 2010 by the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA) to encourage consumers to shop at local toy stores instead of big-box and online retailers. The day turned into an annual event — always held the second Saturday of November — and now comes complete with events and celebrations at more than 600 independent toy stores across the country.

It’s bound to be a day of fun, but there’s also an important message: Shop local.

According to the 3/50 Project, $68 of every $100 spent locally returns to the community in taxes, salaries, charitable contributions, etc. In contrast only $43 of every $100 spent at national chains returns to the community. It’s easy to imagine the benefit of supporting local store owners and employees over anonymous retail executives, but shopping local helps customers too.

The quality and selection at small toy stores is above and beyond what shoppers can expect to find at corporate retail chains. “Many of the toys you see at independent toy stores are not advertised on television and are mostly made by small manufacturers,” said ASTRA President Kathleen McHugh in a Neighborhood Toy Store Day press release. “It’s very important for consumers to understand the uniqueness and outstanding quality of toys found at their local toy store versus a national chain.”

Preach! With an incredible array of independent toys on the market, why waste time and money on cheaply-made mass-produced nonsense? Despite multitudes of awards and heaps of praise from savvy moms and store managers alike, without those big ad campaigns most indpendent toys go unnoticed. To help shoppers find the best toys produced every year, ASTRA has created their own annual awards, Best Toys For Kids.

Toys are nominated by independent toy stores, as well as manufacturers. Toy stores alone vote on the nominees, whittling down the choices to a final list of 21 winners across 13 categories. The 2013 winners, announced recently, include some of my personal favorites: RingStix, Squigz and Q-BA-MAZE, to name a few.

These unique toys, and the stores that award them the honors, are at the heart of Neighborhood Toy Store Day. The annual event is a celebration of independence and quality at local toy stores the country over.

No strangers to festivities, we at Kazoodles will be throwing a little shindig ourselves. The store will be open our normal business hours Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., but the day will be filled with free events of all stripes (check out the schedule below).

The first 25 kiddos in the morning will get free goody bags, as well as the first 25 after 1 p.m. Your play perks points will be double for the day, meaning you’ll be that much closer to getting a great free toy for the holidays. We’ll also be hosting a toy drive for the Children’s Center in Vancouver, so feel free drop off donations for kids in need. Fun? Check. Deals? Check. Giving out toys to children in need? Big awesome check.

Come celebrate locally-owned toy stores and play all day long with us! Forget Black Friday, have a happy Neighborhood Toy Store Day!

We’ll see plenty of kids roaming the streets tonight clad in horns, fangs and claws. But all the embrace of monsters by kids leaves me scratching me head. After all, monsters are supposed to be scary, right? The scaly, twelve-eyed, sharp-fanged creatures that lurk underneath your bed and in the shadows of your closet? I remember going to bed paranoid as a kid, begging my mom to use her can of “monster spray” like Raid around my room (in reality it was an empty can of hairspray). Everywhere I look I see monsters of all scary shapes and sizes, and kids aren’t running scared but, for some strange reason, smiling.

From “Monsters Inc.” to “Moshi Monsters” to “Yo Gabba Gabba,” friendly monsters seem to be all the rage. To be sure, these furry friends are not the creepy creatures of our nightmares, but they’re monsters nonetheless: strange, grotesque beings that lurk in surreal worlds. University studies and popular media tell us that kids of all stripes are creeped out by clowns, which are just people in makeup, but why do monsters, who seem much more menacing and not remotely human, get a pass?

To solve this monstrous riddle, let’s take a look at the history of friendly monsters in pop culture. One of the first monsters to come to life on the big screen was Nosferatu, the grotesque German vampire from the 1922 silent film by the same name. From the ’20s through the ’60s Universal studios expanded the movie monster pantheon with Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Wolf Man, and The Creature From the Black Lagoon. As movie magic improved, monsters got a lot more imaginative and a whole lot scarier. (I try not to revisit my own run-in with a particular slash-em-up movie back in the ’80s that had me in my parents’ bed all night.)

Somewhere along the line, we gained an appreciation for monsters. Call it facing our fears head-on or humanizing our horrors; whatever the reason, our culture started seeing a friendlier brand of monster.

While you can look as far back as Frankenstein or King Kong for evidence of violent but deeply misunderstood monsters, one of the biggest caches of friendly monsters came to us in 1969 in a place called Sesame Street.

Jim Henson’s famous Muppets came in all stripes. There were real-life animals like Big Bird and Kermit the Frog, and there were human-like characters like Bert and Ernie. Most of the other Muppets that filled out the cast, however, were legitimate monsters. There was, of course, Cookie Monster, whose only victims were chocolate chip cookies; Oscar the Grouch, who was generally a jerk but earned our sympathy over time; even the grotesquely adorable two-headed monster, who despite its abnormality taught kids about cooperation. We also had Count van Count – an actual vampire, albeit one who prefers arithmetic to blood – but with his foam head and cheery disposition, he was a far cry from the villainous Nosferatu.

On Sesame Street, monsters weren’t scary creatures of the dark, they were cuddly stuffed animals who had fears and insecurities just like us. Since the ’60s various cuddly monsters have cropped up from time to time. 1969 gave us the psychedelic monsters of H.R. Pufnstuf, in 1984 we were introduced to Gizmo, the adorable counterbalance to the creepy cast of Gremlins, and in 1997 we were introduced to the neurotic leads of Nickelodeon’s Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. By 2001 we had both Shrek, featuring the lovable Ogre, and Monster’s Inc. which gave those scary monsters under the bed silly, relatable personalities.

That last bit really hits the nail on the head. While Universal’s monsters were emotionless cretins, this new batch of friendly monsters have human emotions, including fears and insecurities of their own. Those emotions let kids relate, and erase any fear of the grotesque creatures. Once the fear is gone, monsters are just like people, only they look a little funny.

Once the fear is out of “monsters” the creatures are a blank canvas for imaginative expression. Look no further than Yo Gabba Gabba or the brilliantly surreal Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends for wild, beautiful interpretations of monstrous beings. Because the only thing monsters look like is not us, they have free reign to look like anything. That free spirit of creativity is appealing to kids, who live in the limitless world of imagination already.

Having claws and fangs doesn’t have to be menacing anymore. Your child can be a monster who just likes cookies, or better yet – vegetables! Your little monster doesn’t have to be monstrous at all, because being a monster today just means looking a little different. Frankenstein’s monster would be proud.

Too many toys these days are expendable. We’re expected to shell out $40 for some piece of plastic that gets played with once or twice before our kids grow bored and we end up giving it away, or worse–throwing it in the trash. But instead of buying expendable toys, we should look at buying expandable toys.

When you buy an expandable toy you’re stepping into a massive universe of possibility. Dollhouses need new furniture and a bigger family. Train sets need more track and additional boxcars. LEGO, Playmobil and K’Nex have built extensive universes of their own, adding new sets all the time, growing almost infinitely, providing kids with endless opportunity to grow their toys into massive collections.

And while your head might spin with nightmares of stepping barefoot through minefields of plastic blocks, the concept of expandable toys can save headaches in the short run, the long run and every run in between.

If you’re wary about spending a bunch of money on toys that you don’t necessarily know your kids will like, expandability is your new best friend. Because they come in sets, expandable toys are relatively inexpensive to try out. You can buy your kiddo one piece of the universe, a small planet if you will, and test the waters. If it’s a hit, you haven’t just scored points now, you’ve set up yourself (and your family and friends) to score points again and again and again and again.

Those toy “planets” are meant to be exhausted fairly quickly. By keeping them small and specific, toy manufacturers allow for fast and regular expansion to more and more planets, eventually leading to entire universes within your kiddo’s room. And while this is a brilliant piece of marketing, it’s a win-win for toy companies and parents alike.

I remember logging a lot of hours with LEGOs as a kid. A single small set, usually island or Medieval-themed, would only last a few weeks before I lost interest. But every time a new set was introduced, the entire collection became new. A space set would allow me to put Medieval knights into space ships. A pirate set introduced conflict (or friendship) to the previously lonely islanders. Eventually I started mixing and matching the pieces, making my own worlds from the strange jambalaya of plastic bricks.

The beautiful thing about expandable toys is that they usually combine all the other good-toy features I talked about last week. They tend to be interactive (relying on your child’s participation to work), open-ended (giving your child a whole world of possibilities), and creative (letting imagination rule).

One of the big questions throughout this series has been how you can know what toys your kids will like. Nobody likes wasting money on toys that go straight to the back of the closet, so solving this problem is key to saving money. When your kiddo gets invested in an expandable toy universe, this question is answered for you. You, your friends and your family will never have to second guess yourselves when it comes to giving gifts. Everybody can buy a different set to go with the expandable universe, ensuring that all-important long-lasting play value, and getting the best possible bang for your buck.

I know this three-part series has thrown a lot of information your way, so let’s take a second to breathe and look back at it all:

Toys can be expensive. While trying to pinch your hard-earned pennies, it can be a drag to spend $40 on a toy, only to find out your child isn’t even into it. To save yourself some money, stop thinking about the cost of toys in their actual dollar amount and start thinking in dollars per hour of play. If you buy toys that are interactive, open-ended and creative, like those great expandable toys, you can ensure your kids will play with those toys for hours upon hours. Your kiddos get great toys and you save money. What could be greater?

Bruder makes a quality construction vehicle toys that last for years of play.

This is the first of a three-part series that will examine the TRUE cost of toys in an effort to help you save money on those often expensive, all-important toy purchases. Don’t freak out, it’s easier than you think.

Part 2: Toys That Last

They’re two little words that punctuate the eardrums like a roll of warning thunder in the distance: “I’m bored.” You’ve bought hundreds of dollars worth of toys for your kids, you know they have active imaginations, and there’s always plenty to do outside, so why are they bored? We like to chalk it up to a number of excuses like laziness or even a case of attention deficit disorder. But what if the answer isn’t in their brain chemistry but in their toys?

Last week I talked about calculating the true cost of toys. The formula, as I mentioned, requires estimating the number of collective hours your child will likely play with a given toy before tossing it in the back of the closet for good. While it’s a very worthwhile formula, the nagging question that remains is how exactly you estimate, with any sort of accuracy, how well your kiddo will like that toy. That question can be answered by looking at “long-lasting play value.”

Long-lasting play value might sound a little jargony, but it’s incredibly simple. According to Philip Wrzesinski, a long-lasting toy must be interactive, open-ended and creative. These are all fairly self-explanatory criteria, but let’s go ahead and take a deeper look at each one, shall we?

The Happy Villa dollhouse by Hape Toys has great long-lasting play value.

InteractiveTo be interactive, a toy must rely on the child’s active participation to work. Pressing a button and watching the toy work is not active participation. Tickle Me Elmo, our classic bad toy example, requires nothing from your kiddo but a firm squeeze and a pair of eyes. To find good interactive toys think simply. A toy truck, for example, is just a block of metal until somebody decides to play with it, determining what it is and what it’s doing and why it does the things it does. It’s that emotional connection, that energy a child puts into a toy, that creates the unbreakable bond between the two.

Open-Ended
Open-ended toys allow endless possibilities. Like interactive toys, they require active participation to work, but their extreme lack of specificity allows them to be building blocks to create something, or rather anything, that comes to mind. Some of the best building blocks are just that–building blocks. Wooden blocks are a terrific toy for younger kiddos because they can easily turn into skyscrapers, tunnels, mountains or bridges. The natural progression is to smaller building block toys like LEGOs that allow even more room for creativity. And speaking of creativity…

Keeping in mind the criteria, it’s a no-brainer to pick out long-lasting toys over short-lived ones. Classic toys are classics for a reason: dolls, dollhouses, toy trains, building blocks, and LEGOs all promote creativity, interactivity and open-endedness, and will yield years of play. Relatively newer toys, like Spirograph, Playmobil and even the Potholder Loom, are safe bets as well, leaving room for plenty of time to play.

So you know that it’s important to find long-lasting toys and you know what long-lasting toys look like, but how do you know which long-lasting toys your kids will like? That answer is maybe the most obvious of all: observation.

Does your child like to play on a micro, hands-on level? Try small building block toys like LEGOs or Playmobil. Does your child like mobile toys that can zoom around the house? Try Bruder trucks or a classic wooden train. Does your child like to create large imaginary worlds with props and costumes? Try buying props and costumes, like plastic swords and different outfits. We can’t know what our kids will like unless we know what our kids are like.

Once you find the perfect toys for your kiddos, the challenge is to ensure they really and truly last. In next week’s final installment, Part 3: An Expandable Toy Universe, I’ll talk about how quality and expandability can make toys last entire childhoods, and even cross generations.

Playmobil sets, like the zoo collection, have long play value, but are also expandable.

]]>https://kazoodles.wordpress.com/2013/10/17/the-true-cost-of-toys-part-2/feed/2kazoodlesBruder makes a quality construction vehicle toys that last for years of play.The Happy Villa dollhouse by Hape Toys is a great example of a toy with long-lasting play value.Playmobil sets, like the zoo collection, not only have long play value, but are also expandable.The True Cost of Toys, Part 1https://kazoodles.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/the-true-cost-of-toys-part-1/
https://kazoodles.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/the-true-cost-of-toys-part-1/#commentsThu, 10 Oct 2013 22:54:01 +0000http://kazoodles.wordpress.com/?p=720

This is the first of a three-part series that will examine the TRUE cost of toys in an effort to help you save money on those often expensive, all-important toy purchases. Don’t freak out, it’s easier than you think.

Part 1: Calculating the True Cost of Toys

If there’s one simple truth about kids, it’s that they will play. They don’t prefer to play, they won’t play if you insist, they WILL play no matter what. Since the dawn of mankind, adults have been giving children things to play with, whether it be polished rocks or Tickle Me Elmo. These things, what we in the biz call “toys,” are integral to a child’s development and therefore a matter of great interest to parents. But as toys get more extravagant (gone are the good ol’ hoop-and-stick days), they can cause more anguish for money-conscious parents trying to get the best bang for their buck.

The answer to the issue of finances is usually a hunt for good deals. And while Online Discount Warehouse or Big Box Store might save you $10 on that $50 toy, paying less at the register doesn’t necessarily mean you’re saving any money in the long run. This part’s important, so let me reiterate: Paying less doesn’t always save you money. Let me explain.

“The most affordable toy is the one your child plays with longest,” explains Philip C. Wrzesinski in his article “Saving Money on Toys.” “The way to save money becomes very simple,” he writes. “Find out how much a toy costs per hour of play.” This idea seems obvious, but it flies in the face of the way we usually think about the cost of toys. We usually get so wrapped up in the short-term, thinking about buying the right toys to make our kids happy, that we ignore the long-term, making sure we’re buying toys our kids will actually play with. There’s some very simple toy math to explain all this, so let’s go to the chalkboard:

Our usual short-term thinking about cost relies heavily on our kids’ initial excitement upon receiving the toy, and so looks something like this:

Cost of Toy x Initial Excitement = Short-Term Cost

If we rank “Initial Excitement” as either a 2 (over the moon excited), 1 (moderately excited) or 0 (bummed), we get a fairly accurate representation of whether or not the purchase was “worth it” initially. If you spend $40 on a train set, and your kiddo screams with delight, your true cost is $80, meaning it was a great buy. If your kiddo cries and screams “I don’t like trains!” that’s a goose egg in excitement meaning your true cost is $0.

While it’s all very simple and logical, it’s important to note that THIS WAY OF THINKING IS WRONG.

The balsa glider is inexpensive, but what is the true cost?

It’s great to see that look of pure joy on your kids’ faces as they unwrap new toys, but how long does that last? If that excitement fades quickly, your kids are back to square one and you’re back in the toy store, looking for another toy, spending more money. As Wrezsinski suggests, we should instead be thinking in the long-term and looking at cost per hour of play. Using his formula, let’s go back to the chalkboard:

Cost of Toy / Hours Played With = True Cost

True cost is found by dividing the cost of the toy by the total number of hours your child plays with it before becoming bored with it for good. Let’s look at that wooden train set again. If your kiddo plays with the $40 set for a total of 40 hours before becoming bored, the total cost is $1/hour of play. That’s a good value! If your kiddo really doesn’t like trains and plays with the set for a total of 2 hours before becoming bored, you get $20/hour of play; that’s not a great buy.

Once we get over thinking in the short term, this math makes so much sense. The LEGO sets from my childhood provided years of play. Those Power Rangers battle spinners? Not so much. Even if the LEGOs cost more, their true cost was much less. This logic shouldn’t be foreign. We already know that a $30 Spirograph is a better buy than 10-cent mustache comb, even though the comb costs so much less (but seriously, if your children are growing mustaches that need combing you have more serious issues at hand).

The second half of the equation, the “hours played with” ranges drastically depending on your kiddos and the toys they like. Unfortunately, what they want in the short-term isn’t always what they’ll like in the long-term. Because many toy manufacturers want to sell as many toys as possible, they focus our attention on that initial excitement that drives kids to their parents and parents to the stores. But as parents know all too well, many of these highly-marketed toys don’t capture attention spans much longer than a few hours. The trick is not in finding what they want the most, but what they’ll like the longest.

So how exactly are you supposed to figure out which toys will last and which won’t? There are plenty of strategies, but I’ll talk about them next week. For now, look back over our formulas and start to calculate the true cost of your kids’ toys. You might be surprised (or not!) to learn which toys were really the least expensive. Come back next week for Part 2: Toys That Last, to learn more about long-lasting play value and which toys are really worth your buck.

]]>https://kazoodles.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/the-true-cost-of-toys-part-1/feed/2kazoodlesBrioPlayThe balsa glider is inexpensive, but what is the true cost?greentoysBouquetLeapin’ Lizards! The Reality of Owning Reptileshttps://kazoodles.wordpress.com/2013/09/19/leapin-lizards-the-reality-of-owning-reptiles/
https://kazoodles.wordpress.com/2013/09/19/leapin-lizards-the-reality-of-owning-reptiles/#respondThu, 19 Sep 2013 23:39:16 +0000http://kazoodles.wordpress.com/?p=680

Ian Stewart likes lizards. He likes them so much, in fact, that he dedicated a better part of the last four years of his life researching, writing about and, of course, living with them. Over time he’s learned one simple truth: Everything you think you know about lizards is a lie. Well, almost everything.

This Saturday, Ian and his wife, Lyzz, will bring three of their scaly friends to Kazoodles to give a hands-on lesson on lizards that will dispel some common misconceptions about the reptiles once and for all.

Ian and Lyzz haven’t always been reptile aficionados. They started, just like everyone else, knowing very little about them. But a harmless video of a pacman frog turned into a life-changing fascination. After the video, Lyzz bought Ian a pacman frog of his own. That Valentine’s Day Ian bought Lyzz a water dragon. Since then they’ve taken care of a dozen different herptiles (that’s reptiles and amphibians), from common chameleons to Cuban knight anoles.

“Once you meet the lizard you start to understand. They don’t act like mammals,” Ian said. “They have their own way of thinking.” That stereotypical image in your mind of the zen lizard sitting motionlessly atop a rock is one of the few true stereotypes out there. “Lizards are pretty much entirely in the now. They don’t think ahead, they don’t think back, they pretty much just do.”

But while they seem calm and collected, many lizards have a wicked temper. Take the chameleon, for instance. It’s common knowledge that chameleons change color, but it’s not for camouflage as most of us are led to believe. The color doesn’t correspond to the chameleon’s habitat but its mood. There are colors for anger, sadness and, well, for mating purposes.

And while we imagine lizards eating flies and small bugs, as a species they have a very varied diet. Iguanas are strict vegans, while monitor lizards eat small mammals and large insects. Even their defensive tactics vary. Some lizards hiss, bite or squirt blood at their enemies, but others aren’t so bold. A Uromastyx lizard might look tough, but its primary defensive mechanism, like a lot of lizards, is to run away.

“You find out a lot about reptiles as you own them. You find out a lot of the things you know just are not true,” Ian said. By bringing his pets to Kazoodles, kids have a chance to gain valuable firsthand education about lizards, to separate fact from fiction.

And before you get down on yourself for not knowing much about lizards, bear in mind these aren’t animals that are exactly common in the Pacific Northwest. You might find some small lizards in eastern Oregon and Washington, but most are too quick to catch and examine closely.

That makes finding pets a little difficult for Ian and Lyzz. While some of their lizards come from breeding facilities via big box stores like Petco, many are from local breeders or are sick or injured lizards they adopt. The day after he bought his wife their first water dragon, he adopted another one with three legs from a pet store.

Those two water dragons, along with a uromastyx, monitor lizard, Cuban knight anole and bearded dragon, make six lizards that call his house home. And while the serene creatures might seem simple to own, they actually require specialized care that can be just as tricky as owning a dog or a cat. A slight change in temperature is enough to kill most lizards, and while heat lamps regulate that well, a sudden power outage can turn tragic for reptile pets.

“When you buy a lizard, the lizard is always going to be the cheap part of it,” Ian said. A lizard can cost as little as $80, but after your buy a tank, heat lamps, habitat and food (which, depending on your lizard, could be live bugs or dead mammals), you can end up spending a few hundred dollars.

Although that might shatter any illusion you might have about lizards being cheap and easy, it’s important to realize that they’re on the same level as other common household pets. “Many people think they’re less intelligent, less worthy than dogs and cats,” Ian said. “We like to tell people that reptiles can be neat animals.”

Ian, Lyzz and three of their lizards will be at Kazoodles this Saturday, September 21 at 2 p.m. Holding and petting the lizards is allowed and encouraged. Take the opportunity to learn something new about these riveting reptiles!